Kean ditches Google for Microsoft 365 I Published October 15

By: Courtney-Joy Breeden

It’s all the buzz. The campus is full of questions and concerns regarding Kean’s switch from Google to Microsoft 365 so it’s time to get some answers.

The transition marks the start of what Kean calls “a new era” and the campus body is definitely feeling it.

“Microsoft is…fine, it’s hard and complicated at times. Google is easy and simple,” said Isaiah Blue, a junior music major. “We’re accustomed to Google and there’s nothing wrong so why change it? Learning this new system is too much of a hassle.”

KeanVice President of the Office of Information Technology CIO and CISO, Greg Bellotti, and the IT department have committed time to answering some questions.

For some brief background, Kean began using Google when the company introduced free lifetime services in the early 2010s and is currently beginning to charge for these services Bellotti says.

“Several factors led to the decision to transition to Microsoft 365, chief among them are sustainability and security,” Bellotti states.

As of 2024, Google and Microsoft seem to be similar in their current end-to-end encryption process and are both susceptible to phishing attempts through email. Although security is part of the reason for the switch, it doesn’t seem to be a big factor.

In early July of this year, Google released that its greenhouse gas emissions had risen by 48 percent since 2019, in a sustainability report released by Microsoft in May states that the company’s emissions increased by 29 percent since 2020.

Apps like Slack, mostly used to communicate with coworkers and supervisors, had become victim to an activist group protesting Disney’s use of AI hacked the platform and leaked 1,000 gigabytes of Disney’s data to the public causing the company to migrate to Microsoft Teams.

“The Microsoft platform is a world-class solution that more than 70 percent of businesses use,” He added. “Having students use these tools helps prepare them for the workforce.”

Microsoft 365 had 345 million paid commercial seats as of 2022 and is popular among enterprise customers whereas Google Workspace had 9 million organizations paying for office software in 2023 and in October of 2021 accumulated 3 billion users. Microsoft has a way to go but with big companies like Disney using their services, many others may follow suit.

So although the campus-wide transition to Microsoft 365 may peeve students and staff, Bellotti insists having everyone use one form of communication is beneficial,  safe and innovative.

“There is fear of the unknown,” said Bellotti. “IT is working diligently to ease the transition and reassure the Kean community that there are long-term benefits for individual users and the university.”

Still, students and faculty have questions.

“Does Microsoft offer the same features as Google when it comes to AI? ” asked Rebecca Tilus, a sophomore Education major at Kean.

Google introduced their AI chatbot, Gemini in December of 2023 during the rise of other AI tools like Chatgpt created by OpenAI, another popular AI bot on campus, and Microsoft produced their own AI tool, Copilot within that same year.

According to Kean IT, full university-wide access to AI tools like Copilot and Chatgpt aren’t accessible through Microsoft as of now but this transition does allow our technologies to be integrated with AI assistance like Copilot in the future..

And the future is closer than we think. As the use of Microsoft 365 spreads throughout the campus, so will the ability to access AI. The Microsoft website states that Colleges and Universities with an academic license can access Copilot free of price for faculty, staff and students older than 18.

Many faculty and students have also been wondering what will happen to all of the files they store on Google Drive once the switch completes.

“Are we going to be able to keep any of our past work that we did on Google Docs? Would it transfer over?” asked Kait Nemeth, a junior psychology major.

Unfortunately, no mass downloading and transfer of files on services like Google Docs or Slides is available through the migration, Google Workspace has had this feature accessible for years on its own, users can simply download the files one at a time as Word documents, Excel sheets, or Powerpoints. Bellotti also tells us that the university is keeping Kean’s Google Workspace available on the free tier, allowing students and staff to continue using their given Kean emails to access Youtube, Canva, Dropbox and other Google services.

Kean IT is also working to convert all Google Drive files to Microsoft OneDrive files and advises Kean users to organize all Google Drive files to help this process move smoothly.

“Is there an alternative to Google chat?” asked Lauren C. Rodriguez, Assistant Managing Director of Creative Initiatives of Liberty Hall Academic Center and The Galleries at Kean and Kean Alumna.

Yes, there are a couple of Microsoft alternatives for Google services. The counterpart to Google’s chat feature, commonly known as Google Meet is Microsoft Teams. For other services like Google Drive, the alternative would be Microsoft OneDrive and for Google Sites and Google Forms would be Microsoft SharePoint and Microsoft Forms. There are also options that are similar to Google Docs, Sheets, Slides and Gmail but these alternatives are widely known.

There are plenty more concerns on the transition that haven’t all been covered but if readers have any more questions, please go to Kean IT’s Helpdesk Support Portal to put in a ticket or call to contact a worker. The Helpdesk phone support is 24/7 and office hours are 8:30 a.m. to p.m. Monday through Thursday.

“There have been challenges, but we have a great team and great support available,” Bellotti continued.

Bellotti says that Kean IT is available around the clock for any concerns and major issues, including for your questions about Microsoft 365. Most inquiries through the Helpdesk will be answered within a 24-hour window, office hours are preferable with a 15-minute wait minimum.  The department is also working on an augmented support service that will be available for Kean users beyond business hours

Kean’s dedication to being an Urban Research University and the tools it uses to achieve even greater heights in the world of global research should align and Vice President Bellotti agrees. The tech we use should match our ambition. If schools are built to prepare students for the real world, it’s only fair to utilize the technology successful businesses like Disney are using.

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